OLord,how long shall I
cry for help, and you will not hear? Or
cry to you“Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make
me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destructionand violence are
before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so
justice goes forth perverted.

In
the name + of Jesus.

Habakkuk was a prophet in Israel
for the people of Israel.

When Habakkuk looked around at those who were supposed to be the people
of God, he saw wickedness, violence, and oppression. This was in Jerusalem, in the shadow of the temple, among
God’s people. These were people who had
been set apart for better and should have known better. Habakkuk issued his complaint before God, and
then further complained, “And you will
not hear.”

The wicked surrounded the righteous.
They got away with everything.
God’s Commandments were overthrown.
The people flaunted their sins.
They reveled in their evil. And
Habakkuk complained, “You will not
save. You idly look at wrong. You do nothing.”

Our sense of injustice is offended.
The guilty should pay for his crimes!

Our desire for righteousness is frustrated. When are the good rewarded?

Our motives to persevere are shot.
Why do good when the wicked can do all they want and there is no
judgment against them? No price to
pay. No consequences to their
actions. “And you will not hear. You idly
look at wrong. You do nothing.”

Beware! Your sense of justice is
perverted. You want lightning bolts from
heaven to crush the wicked? Do you think
you have not contributed to the world’s evil?
What about petty squabbles?
Bitter rivalries? Sarcastic
put-downs? Betraying confidences? Building yourself up by tearing someone else
down?

Forget the world “out there.”
It’s right here in your own dorm, isn’t it? It is right there in your own heart, isn’t
it? While you may be disgusted by the
world, you also ought to be equally disgusted by yourself. Repent.

The world is broken and you cannot fix it. Your heart is corrupt, and you cannot fix
that, either. You may be disgusted by
it, but you cannot escape it. You must
be saved from it.

The fact is that God has not stood by idly. He has sent a Savior to deliver you from a
world which is cursed and from your heart which is corrupt.

And in that Savior, the guilty has been punished. Jesus has become sin for you. He has made himself the sin offering to die
in your place and for your sake.

Jesus hung on a cross, and he asked his own grieving question: “Why have
you forsaken me?” There was no
answer. No one saved him. God did nothing. Jesus died for all the world’s sin; for your
sin. By his death, Jesus has delivered
you so that you will not perish.

So, Jesus does not fix the world.
Rather, he delivers you from it.
He sets you apart so that you will not perish, but will live. He sets you apart to live no longer under the
curse of sin, no longer ruled by sin. He
sets you apart to live for him, to live in righteousness, and to live without
fear.

But God does not stand by idly.
To you, it may seem like God is doing nothing. That, however, is God’s patience. He wants all to repent, for he died for
all. He acts not with lightning bolts,
but with mercy. He does not strike down,
but grants time for more and more to repent and be saved.

While the Lord’s patience is held out and the world goes on, you
continue to pray with Habakkuk and with the Church, “Deliver us from
evil.” And recognize that he will. Just has he has delivered you from your sin
and its curse, so he will deliver you from evil and everything that disgusts
you. He will deliver you completely at
the resurrection of the dead.

Then, you will enjoy a life without problems, a life without temptations,
a life without squabbles and rivalries, violence and frustration, a life
without death or mourning or crying or pain.

If you are disgusted by the world, that’s okay. This is not your home. Jesus has set you apart so that you will not
perish with this world. You have been
set apart for what is to come.

Your comfort until then comes from the lips of Jesus. He reminds you who you are by reminding you
of who he is. He is your blessed Savior,
and you are his beloved redeemed.

In the name of the Father and of the Son +
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.